I'm Only Me When I'm With You
by LostInTheCloudsx3
Summary: “When I saw you I was afraid to meet you; when I met you I was afraid to kiss you; when I kissed you I was afraid to love you; now that I love you, I am afraid to lose you.” -N I L E Y-
1. Trailer

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything, except for the plot.**

Miley was your typical high school teenager…

"_Hey Mitchie, ready for school?"_

"_Totally!"_

And doesn't every high school girl fall in love at least once in all those years?

But Miley's problem was that she fell in love, with her best friend's boyfriend.

While Mitchie is oblivious to what's going on, Miley finds herself falling for Nick Grey and he finds himself falling in love with her too. The most bizarre thing was that these two barely could stand each other until a certain incident where they are forced to kiss? Could one kiss possibly change it all? Seems like it could.

Follow Miley & Nick through their experience of how they found love. And how they came to understand that love can be found in the least expected places.

**Starring;**

--Miley Stewart--

"_My life was perfectly fine… Until YOU came!" –Tears dripping down her cheeks-_

--Nick Grey--

"_I think I'm in love with her…" –Sighs-_

--Mitchie Torres--

"_Miley, You are the bestest best friend ever!" –Laughs-_

--Alex Russo--

"_Well, my job IS to make her life miserable." –Smirks-_

"_When I saw you I was afraid to meet you;  
When I met you I was afraid to kiss you;  
When I kissed you I was afraid to love you;  
Now that I love you, I am afraid to lose you."_

**A/N: Hey guys! This must be the worst trailer ever. Forgive me. :( But this is a story that I have on YT. Yeah, it's practically the same thing, except for a few changes and of course the writing style. Please review and tell me if I should write it. :) **

**---Love Sara. :]]**


	2. Auditioning

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything; everything belongs to their rightful owners. **

**Thanks to all those who reviewed. This is dedicated to you guys. :]  
And don't forget to do so again.**

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was a Monday morning when Mitchie Torres skipped gleefully towards her best friend's house on her way to school. She slung her backpack from one hand to another as she hummed a tune to herself. Upon reaching Miley's house, she knocked on the door twice before it was opened by none other than her best friend's mom. Smiling politely, she walked into the house she considered her second home and greeted the woman.

"Hey Mrs. Stewart! Is Miley ready yet?"

"I think so Sweetie. Hold on." She walked to the edge of the flight of stairs and called,"Miley! Mitchie's here!"

_Silence._

"I'll go check up on her." Mitchie told the lady after which she climbed the all too familiar staircase. Upon reaching Miley's room, Mitchie pushed open the doors and walked in only to find Miley still sleeping. _Why am I not surprised?_ She thought. Planting her hands firmly on her slender hips, Mitchie hovered over her quite oblivious best friend with an impish smile.

"Miley!" she yelled into her ear and backed up hurriedly as Miley sat up startled.

"What? Where's the fire?!" Miley rambled in dreadful panic as Mitchie just laughed mercilessly. Finally realizing what was going on, Miley groaned and sank into her oh-so-comfortable bed once again.

"Miley, get up. We have school. We're gonna be late."

"School!" Miley exclaimed once again sitting up straight in genuine surprise.

"Yes, school… You know that place where we go five days a week?"

"Oh my gosh! We are gonna be so late. Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Miley asked as Mitchie stared at her in amusement. Standing up, Miley swiftly made her way to her closet to get ready for the day in the restricted amount of time she had as Mitchie picked up a fashion magazine strewn carelessly on the floor and settled into the chair while she waited for her to finish getting ready.

Fifteen minutes later ---which was a record for Miley--- the girls made their way downstairs. Miley grabbed a sandwich and gave a quick peck on her mother's cheek and ran out the door slinging her backpack over her shoulder. Mitchie followed her and began humming the song she had been earlier sounding cheerful.

"Ugh! How can you be sickeningly cheerful on a Monday morning?!"

"By practicing it every week until I'm good at it of course!" she replied with the same amount of sugar in her tone.

"Did anyone ever tell you that it's infuriating?"

Mitchie just laughed since she knew her best friend was not somber. "Why are you so acid anyways?" she wanted to know.

"Um… Everyone is one Mondays. That is, not including you!"

Mitchie shrugged.

"Well, not everyone has a boyfriend who they're looking forward to see."

"Oooooh, so that's your problem! You're jealous!" Mitchie teased.

"Of course not." Miley said to her friend in incredulity that she would ever think that she would be envious of someone dating _Nick Grey._ Although they do not have serious fights, they can never get along. Sometimes it's even as if they do it on purpose. They can't go one day without a lighthearted banter about something or the other. And generally, they didn't even deem theirselves as friends. To Miley, Nick was just her best friend's boyfriend and to Nick, Miley was just his girlfriend's best friend.

"Whatever you say." Mitchie sang teasing her as they walked through the huge double doors of their high school as the strident _briiiiiing_ of the bell echoed through the corridor.

"Right in time!" mused Miley as the two of them scurried towards their lockers; hastily exchanged the books and ran to their homeroom as fast as they could not wanting to arrive after the late bell. They slipped into their seats huffing and puffing just in time next to Nick.

"Hey!" Mitchie said her voice filled with zest even while she panted.

"Hey, Mitchie. Why late?" The curly-haired cutie inquired.

"Well someone forgot to set their alarm." Mitchie said pointedly while whirling around to look at Miley with that accusing look while Miley feigned innocence and batted her eyes humorously making them all laugh.

"Or maybe she just doesn't know how tell time."

"It's Monday!" Miley yelled giving no further explanation causing Nick to turn to Mitchie scratching his head in uncertainty.

"You don't wanna know." Mitchie laughed out while she looked at her best friend slumped next to her with her arms crossed and grumbling something about how Mondays were stupid. God knows what Mondays did to Miley to earn her curses.

Miley and Mitchie, much to the teacher's annoyance, kept giggling about the outfit she was wearing that particular day. Mrs. Dean, a woman at her mid-thirties, had a very weird sense of fashion, no one could deny that. She wore dresses with the most bizarre; 'out of the ordinary' color coordination. Today she was wearing a stripped red and hot pink top with a bright green skirt. Their eyes hurt and tears almost stung by just looking at it. But regardless to how she dressed; the students liked her a lot because she was very pleasant and had a great sense of humor which is why they assumed she clothed like that.

"Auditions for the school drama slash musical will be held tomorrow after school. Those who are interested may prepare a song of their choice and perform it during the auditions tomorrow. Good luck to everybody."

Whispers started circulating among the student body. "A musical?" "A drama?" "I wanna be in it." "That's so cool." "Are you gonna audition?" and a million other whispers could be heard.

Mitchie turned to Miley; an excited grin plastered on her face. Miley recognized the look instantaneously.

"Oh no, I'm not doing it." She told her.

"Why not?" Mitchie pleaded.

"For the reason that I don't want to."

"Please? Pretty please? Just try out; you don't have to do anything else. Please? If you really are my best friend, you'd do this for me."

"Isn't that blackmail?"

"I don't care! Please?"

"No." Miley merely replied.

"Come on, Miley. Please? Pretty please? I'll nag you until you give in. You know I'll do." She added as Miley rounded her head to give her a bemused stare.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Where is that girl?!' Mitchie exclaimed glancing at her watch for the tenth time in like two minutes. And Nick shrugged with very little if not no awareness for the tenth time in like two minutes.

Five minutes passed and Mitchie got impatient. Finally; after what seemed like an eternity --to Mitchie--Miley trudged her way to them dragging her feet.

"Where were you missy?!" Mitchie demanded giving her best friend a stern glare.

"I thought if I delayed enough, you'd go on without me…" Miley mumbled; evidently disappointed that her foolproof plan had botched.

"Nice try." Mitchie smirked, this was so something what Miley would do. Giving her a dazzling smile she preceded on to saying, "How could I leave my wonderful best friend?"

Sighing profoundly; Miley followed Mitchie and Nick into the auditorium where auditions for the musical were taking place the following evening. Miley had no pleasure in being here. _How did she get me to do it again?_ She though. Oh yeah, that's right; Mitchie had bribed her. She had offered her tickets to a Coldplay concert, and how in the sane world could Miley deny that? _Besides_, Miley thought, _it's not like I'm guaranteeing a role by going, I'm simply going to audition then forget about it_. Now that she thought about it, it didn't seem like such a bad bargain. The girls slipped into their seats and looked around at the room filled with bubbly conversations.

"Miley! Mitchie!" came an over exaggerated high pitched squeal. They turned to look at the source; not that they didn't recognize who it was right away without even looking. Turning around in their seats, Miley and Mitchie looked at Alex.

Everyone; meet Alex Russo. Alex was Miley's arch rival. Her enemy. Although neither of them even remembered what had caused this dispute, that did not stop them from being each other's nightmare. Well, mostly Miley minded her own business unless Alex pulled her into a fight. Alex was also the one only daughter of one of the most successful businessmen in the country. And the result? She was nothing but a spoilt brat living solely for the purpose of making people's life miserable, or so it was in Miley's and Mitchie's opinions.

Alex thought of herself as the best. If you ask her what she thought about herself, she would reply with no hesitation that she was gorgeous; smart; chaste; amazing; a boy-magnet and all those other complete lies about herself. Modesty was just not her thing. She was pretty, she was clever, but how she used these qualities was a whole different story. She used her clever mind to come up with devious; sneaky plans on how to make other people miserable, especially Miley's and since she was Miley's best friend, Mitchie was also a target. Alex kind of had a crush on Nick since he came to this school some months back. But she was devastated to find out that someone had already taken him before she could.

The best friends exchanged looks upon hearing Alex voice which was an evident that she was just feigning affability. Miley raised one perfect eyebrow questioning her.

"What do you want?" Mitchie asked.

"Just wishing you guys good luck!" she said still wearing that unbelievable sweet smile. "I didn't know you were auditioning. Maybe you shouldn't, you know it's not too late to back out now. You're just going to embarrass yourself if you go up there and sing." Alex said in the most annoyingly haughty manner as the smile twisted to devilish; superior grin.

"I'm sure we won't be the ones looking bad if you are planning on singing too!"

"Of course I'm gonna sing." Alex replied in duh tone.

Giggling, the girls turned back around much to Alex's annoyance. Alex opened her mouth to make a snide remark just when the drama teacher walked into the auditorium and clapped her hands to attract the attention of all the teenagers in the room. Everyone turned to look at her as a silence took over the huge room.

"Thank you for coming." She said into the mike. "We shall begin now, I will call up on your name, and you may come up here and perform your song… Jessica Feller." She said after checking the clipboard she held in her hand. A timid looking girl rose from her seat and made her way up the stage, evidently intimidated by either the teacher or the fact that she had to be the one to perform first.

A short while later, Ms. Collins called up on the much anticipating Alex. She rose to her full height and walked to the stage with chin held up high, an air of overconfidence hanging around her as everyone watched her. Much to everyone's, especially Miley's and Mitchie's surprise, Alex was a pretty good singer.

"I feel sorry for whomever it is that has to go on after her…" Miley whispered to Mitchie after Alex had finished her performance. Everyone clapped and the expression on Alex's face was of pure satisfaction as if she had won American Idol. Ms. Collins had to clear her throat to make Alex leave the stage.

"I know." Mitchie replied in a hushed tone.

"I'm really nervous, Mitchie. If I get sick up there, I'm blaming you!"

Laughing, Mitchie said," Don't worry, you have nothing to worry about. You'll do great. You have a great voice and you sang very well when we practiced yesterday… If it makes you feel better, so am I." Mitchie told Miley and gave her a small encouraging smile.

"Well, thanks. You were really good too. But I really hope it's not me nex—"

"Miley Stewart."

Miley stared at Mitchie in nervousness as her eyes widened.

"Go on." Mitchie told Miley and gave her a slight push.

Miley slowly made her way to the teacher completely aware of the fact that at least about fifty to sixty eyes were following her. She was handed a microphone, Miley looked at the object in her hand like it was infectious. This was the first time she was going to sing in front of other people, that is, other than her parents, sister, Mitchie, and some other selected people. They had always told her that she was talented, but she was not going to believe them. Her eyes frantically searched the auditorium for Mitchie but instead landed on Nick. He saw her looking at him; Nick could see the nervousness in her eyes. He smiled at her in encouragement surprising himself as well as Miley. Miley uncertainly smiled back and took a deep breath bracing herself for the worst. But when she opened her mouth and sang; the vocals flooding out of them were beautiful. Enjoying the feeling; Miley's eyes closed as she focused solely on singing.

I can almost see it

_That dream I'm dreaming but,  
There's a voice inside my head saying,  
You'll never reach it,  
Every step I'm taking,  
Every move I make feels,  
Lost with no direction.  
My faith is shaking but I;  
Got to keep trying;  
Got to keep my head held high._

_There's always going to be another mountain,  
I'm always going to want to make it move;  
Always going to be an uphill battle;  
Sometimes you going to have to lose;  
Aint' about how fast I get there;  
Aint' about what's waiting on the other side;  
Its the climb…_

Miley's eyes opened as she heard the applause. Everyone who was hearing her sing for the first time was surprised. Miley's eyes shined in happiness as she joyfully skipped off the stage and ran to her seat to a Mitchie who was looking at her proudly.

"You were awesome, girl!"

"Thanks." Miley was still smiling. "Was it really that good?"

"Totally! What did I tell you! You were better than ever."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Did you see Alex's face?"

The girls turned to look at Alex who was green with jealousy; almost having smoke coming out of her ears. Alex caught them looking and gave them a look which most of them might have found intimidating, a glare so stern filled with hatred, but Miley and Mitchie just laughed and turned around. As Mitchie went back to watching the try-outs proceed, Miley mouthed a 'thank you' to Nick, who simply smiled back at her.

_You know, I've never noticed how gorgeous that guy's eyes were…_ Miley mused as she turned back around to face forward. Little did she know that there were many more things she was about to find about Nick Grey.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**A/N: First chap. pretty boring, huh? I know. I'm sorry. But after all, it is the first one. And first chapters are never that interesting. Just the background of all the characters and their roles in this story. Please review! And my faithful (lol) YT subscribers, if you are reading, of course you know what's gonna happen, but keep it to yourselves. Ok? **


	3. Exhilaration

**Disclaimer: I do not anything at all. Everything belongs to their rightful owners. **

"_**Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more."  
**__**  
--**__**Erica Jong**__**--**_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Mitchie, wait up!" Miley pleaded her anxious best friend while she tried to match the speed of her footsteps. _I swear she's going a million miles an hour_, Miley thought. Mitchie was really excited to get to school this particular Friday. Why? Because today was the day that the results for the play were going to be announced. Mitchie could barely keep in her anticipation, boy, was she impatient! Miley was in no hurry to get to school, Miley could barely walk steady, she was so sleepy! Thanks to Mitchie, Miley had been pulled out of her dreamland an hour earlier than she actually should have been and dragged to the place she called "school."

"Slow down!"

"No, you speed up!"

The two girls kept bickering all the way to school. Finally reaching their destination, Mitchie squealed in excitement as Miley pushed open the huge double doors admitting them into the school. Miley gave her best friend a weird look. But when they walked in; Miley was surprised to find the amount of kids crammed full around the usually unnoticed notice board. Maybe this drama/musical was deserved more credit than Miley was giving it. It seemed like a really big event in this school's extracurricular activities. The hallway was buzzing with excited conversations; most probably about this drama and who got the lead roles. Now, Miley had to admit she was kind of anxious too. Not that she was hoping she would be amongst them. She knew she was NOT going to be there, but just to find out who was the lucky someone.

Mitchie gave a Miley's hand a petite pull and they made their way towards the notice board. The huge crowd making it almost impracticable to budge. Miley gave the few girls looking at her with varied expressions an odd gaze and turned to look at the board. However, what she saw was totally startling that she just about choked on her own spit. Gasping, she read it again making sure what she was reading was not a fragment of her imagination. The efficiently computer printed handwriting on the yellow article holding the topic 'OFFICIAL RESULTS FOR SCHOOL DRAMA/MUSICAL' read:

Main Roles:

Conrad Sullivan: Nick Jonas

Kim MacAfee: Miley Stewart

…And then the rest.

Mitchie twisted around and hugged her best friend who was still staring at the paper in shock wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her something like that. Finally snapping out of her weird stare fest, she looked at her best friend whose cheery face made her smile automatically.

"Oh My Gosh, Miley! This is SO cool." Gushed the keyed up girl.

"I know!" Miley said, catching on with Mitchie's contagious happiness.

The two girls celebrated by "happy-dancing" not worrying that people were looking at them like they were crazy.

"Yay! Now I'm your best friend in real life AND the play!" Mitchie said animation flooding her voice.

Just when the girls thought nothing could make them bring them into a better mood, they heard the obnoxious voice they knew so well commanding everybody to move. Of course; it was none other than our very own Alex Russo.

"Move. Move. MOVE!" she commanded everybody while pushing them all out of the way in order to get to the board. She held an air of confidence as if she knew for sure that she had the most important role in the play. Miley and Mitchie watched with amusement as they waited for her to get there and read. Pretty much everybody in the whole building heard her shriek. It was a really funny sight when you were watching from Miley and Mitchie's points of views. A panic-stricken expression crossed Alex's face as her eyes landed on the bottom most names on the entire listing.

Understudies:

…

Kim McAfee: Alex Russo

Miley and Mitchie laughed out loud not able to suppress it any longer as another shriek left Alex's mouth. Alex looked at them shooting them daggers through her eyes, well, if looks could kill, Miley and Mitchie would have been lifeless right at this instant. Her eyes were blazing and more or less turned scarlet. Letting out a sloppy 'Hmph', Alex flipped her sleek black hair and trudged away trying to look like she didn't care, but failing miserably since everyone watching her knew she was embarrassed. Miley clutched her abdomen as her sides began to throb from laughing so hard. Alex turned on her heel and shot her a look of pure hatred after which she swiftly dashed into the girls' toilet and banged the door.

A few minutes after that side-splitting episode, Nick strolled casually into the hallway with his hands tucked into his pockets.

"Nick!" Mitchie yelled trying to get his attention, which she did. Spotting them, he walked over coolly sporting a warm smile on his face.

"Guess what?!" Mitchie could only just hold in her exhilaration.

"What?"

"I said guess!"

Nick opened his mouth to say something, but before an utterance could depart his mouth, Mitchie being the keen girl he was blurted out, "You got the lead role in the drama!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I was surprised too." Miley said making a snide remark causing Mitchie to give her a scolding look and mumbled an incoherent sorry to her shoes more than to Nick. Nick laughed good-naturedly and returned to his conversation with his girlfriend.

"And guess what else?" Mitchie gushed once again.

Once again Nick opened his mouth only to be cut off by Mitchie. "Alex isn't even in it! Well, not unless Miley drops out or something happens to her…" she added as an afterthought.

"Miley…?"

"Yeah. I forgot to tell you that. Miley's playing the female lead! Aint that great?"

"Yeah, I guess." Nick muttered with not half as excitement as Mitchie.

Mitchie shot Miley a glance her face boring the expression of a lost puppy as to why Nick was not sharing their enthusiasm.

Miley patted her back, "Boy brains." She explained simply causing Mitchie to giggle.

"Huh?" Nick muttered, evidently just returning from mars causing the duo to giggle even more until they were indulged in a fit of giggles.

"You know, it's rude to laugh at someone. Have your parents never taught you that?"

"No—not—r-rea--lly." Miley managed out.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**A/N: I reaalllllly wanted to write more. But I wanted to put this out, and I knew if I wanted to write more, god knows how long it woulda taken. I'm really busy, 9****th**** grade is SO stressful. Sorry it sucks. And this chapter is kinda pointless, to me it is. Please review!  
-Peace.**


	4. Run Away With Me?

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything in this story. Everything belongs to their rightful owners.**

**"_What I needed most was to love and to be loved, eager to be caught. Happily I wrapped those painful bonds around me; and sure enough, I would be lashed with the red-hot pokers or jealousy, by suspicions and fear, by burst of anger and quarrels."_**_****_

--_**St. Augustine**__**--**_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Miley's POV:

Later on the next day, after school, we had been scheduled for our first ever rehearsals today. And I was kind of nervous. I mean, this was thee first time I was ever going to do some serious singing, not just the bits and pieces written by me on the corners of my notebooks. I took a deep breath while into the destination with my arm hooked through Mitchie's, and Nick walking by us.

We all walked into the room, Nick and I listening to Mitchie's voice chattering away like there was no tomorrow. Seriously, how much can this girl talk? Well, I guess that's what makes Mitchie, Mitchie. I glanced sideways at Nick; he was looking down with his hands tucked into his pocket. He was unusually quiet too, like me. Maybe he was nervous too, or maybe it was just me, I decided.

(About half an hour later)

"Will you come with me, we ca—" Nick began with his feeble attempt of acting. I couldn't understand, he seemed like an amazing actor. Why was he not doing it properly? He kept messing up the lines. I figure I'm not the only nervous one. What was he supposed to be doing? Oh yeah, asking me to run away with him. Well, not me, my character.

"Stop!" Ms. Collin screeched making both of us turn to her with matching sighs and look of impatience evident on our faces. This must have been about the tenth time interrupting. Then again, I don't blame her, Nick was not doing well. What was she to do? "Have some emotion, boy! You are asking her to run away with you for god's sake!"

Nick sighed in defeat, and looked at me. His eyes filled with disappointment of himself most probably. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him a teensy weensy bit. Giving him a small encouraging smile, "You can do it," I mouthed to him.

Somehow; he seemed to have gained confidence as he turned to look at the older woman and said with confidence," I'm ready." I was surprised too. Ms. Collins nodded, signaling to us to try the scene again for the eleventh time.

Nick turned to look at me and read his lines to himself to get ready. A few minutes later, he looked up at me square in the eye and recited his lines once again. But this time, flawlessly.

"Kim… Will you go with me?"

The play "me" sighed sadly and looked down at our intervened hands. "Where to?"

"Just say you'll come with me, we can go anywhere, and anywhere we can be together. Anywhere away from these controlling, cruel people who have no hearts."

"Yes… I will. I will go anywhere with you. Because I love you…" I replied still in character. A little too dramatic, I know. But hey, this is drama!

He was looking deep into my eyes now and I was looking back into his. Wow, I had noticed those two days back, but now, the view was just mesmerizing. His eyes were a soft chocolate brown shade. I felt slightly fluttery in the stomach. We were still staring at each other in silence for a few seconds, and the world seemed to disappear to---

WHOA! Hold on. Reality check, Miley. This is Nick. The Nick that you can barely stand. The Nick that is your best friend's boyfriend. What the heck is running through your mind? I need to give myself a good knock on my head to check if I was still sane. I'm erasing I ever thought that right now. Erasing. Erasing. Ok, erased. But seriously, his eyes are gor—No!

Ms. Collins clapped, clearly delighted at our improvement and I broke out of my trace. I looked at Nick who looked like he was startled by something too. Had he felt something too, like the way I had?

Nick's POV:

Wow, what just happened? Was I really staring at Miley's eyes? They were a beautiful, mesmerizing shade of blue. Looking in them was kind of like looking into the ocean. _They glittered_. Whoa! Snap out of it, Nicholas!

Mitchie's POV:

I wiped my tears. This was so sad. I had no idea Nick and Miley were such good actors. And they made a good pair for the lead role. Still, I couldn't help having a little part of me saying that it was bad. It was weird to see my boyfriend and best friend act like they were in love. Well, I got to make some sacrifices. And I guess this one of them. I pushed the feeling aside and continued watching as the next scene was beginning to commence. Miley made her way over to me and I gave her a hug exclaiming," You were SO good! That was so sad, you made me cry…" I fake pouted and we both laughed.

At that moment, I knew I had nothing to worry about, because I new Miley would never ever do anything intentionally to hurt me. She has, is and always will be my best friend. We have gone through so much together and I know neither of us wants to give up any of it.

Nick's POV:

(Next day at Math)

The teacher, Mr. Dean, was handing out our test papers from last week. I had bee dreading this ever since I turned in the paper. I knew I had done horribly. I watched as he swiftly moved across the class handing the papers in speed. No need to hurry, Mr. Dean, I'm going no where; take your ti—Oh boy!

He slammed the paper down on my table making me gulp in fear. No doubt; there was a big F circled in red marker on the top left corner of my class. He shook his head in disappointment. Seriously, was he expecting anything better than this? I wasn't.

"Gray, meet me after class. We got to have a serious talk."

I nodded nervously and moved onto the person next to me. Miley. I was still watching as he handed her the paper, a perfect A+ on it. He smiled at her warmly and she smiled back in satisfaction. I looked at her as Mr. Dean moved on and she gave me a playfully superior look. As if this was something new. Ok, I was a pretty good student, even if I say so myself. I did pretty well in all other subjects, but Math. That was my nightmare. Miley was always at the top of the class and me… at the bottom.

For some strange reason, I kept sneaking glances at Miley for the rest of the classes thinking about probably why she was better than me in Math and… other things. She caught me once or twice and I quickly turned my head to make myself look like I was looking somewhere else.

After another fifteen minutes or so that was filled with not understandable numbers, symbols and letters. Finally, the bell rang symbolizing the end of the period and I leapt to my fee, ready to leave the class before I remembered I had been asked to stay after class. Wondering what he had had to say to me, I made my way to the teacher's table and Mr. Dean looked up from last night's homework he was currently correcting.

Miley's POV:

I picked my books up and started to make my way out the class; it was pretty much empty now, except for Nick. I shook my head thinking that they were discussing his bad performance.

"Miley, could you come here for a moment?"

I turned in surprise to look at the sudden request by the teacher but walked over.

"Yes, Mr. Dean?"

Nick was now staring at us both in confusion.

"I need to ask you a favor…"

Oh no, is this what I'm thinking it is? No! I am NOT doing it. There is no way in this world that I am doing it. What does he think of me? I can't, I simply can't. Oh god please let it not be what I'm thinking it is. Please, please, plea--

"…I need you to tutor Nick."

I glanced at Nick and his expression mirrored mine. A look that said 'No freakin' way!'

"I—"

"Please, Miley. I need you to do this. Nick is an absolute failure in Math—" Nick looked like he was about to protest, then thought not to, "---And I'm only asking you because you're one of the best in the whole class. And plus, you can gain extra credit."

"I'm…"

Why wasn't Nick saying no?!

"Ok—"I sighed, "I'll do it."

"Thank you! Thank you, Miley… You may go now"

This is going to be entertaining. Very entertaining indeed, I thought as we walked out of the class together.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**A/N: I'm SO sorry for the delay. But, I had SO much to do. I'm not lying! I didn't read through, so forgive me for any mistakes.  
Quite a Niley Chapter, right? Lol.  
Well, please review! PLEASE?! **


	5. Closer & Closer

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything or anybody in this story. Everything belongs to their rightful owners.**

"_**Just because you know someone doesn't mean you love them,  
and just because you don't know people doesn't mean you can't  
**__**love them. You can fall in love with a complete stranger in a  
**__**heartbeat, if God planned that route for you. So open your heart  
to strangers more often. You never know when God will throw  
that pass at you."**_

_**-- Heather Grove--**_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Nick's POV:

(Same day after school, walking home with Miley and Mitchie)

"…And then I said—"Miley continued telling Mitchie something that had happened today at gym or something like that.

Mitchie gasped, catching on to what she was going to say," You didn't!"

Miley nodded excitedly, her eyes sparkling with mischief," I did!"

"OMG, I can't believe you did!"

"Me neither!"

"But then did you—"

"Yes!"

"Awesome!"

"I know, isn't it?"

Ok, what the heck were they talking about?! Any guy out there that can understand crazy girl talk? Hello? No one? I guessed as much. After having been requested (and dragged by Mitchie) to walk with them, this was the treatment I was getting? Not able to resist asking them to classify what they were talking about, I hysterically said, "What are you guys even talking about?" Letting them know that I was totally lost as to what was going on, or had gone on in gym (or something).

They both turned to look at me like they were acknowledging me for the first time in the past fifteen minutes or so that I had been walking besides them. Miley stared at me and candidly said," None of your business."

"Well, you guys should not ask me to walk with you if you're gonna keep ignoring me."

"I never asked you to." I think I heard Ms. Miley mumble.

Mitchie shot her a warning look and she quickly mumbled in the same frequency, "sorry." It was amusing to see somebody like Miley being controlled by someone. Laughing, we continued our walk. Finally we reached Miley's house first. That's when I remembered that I had to go there today for tutoring, the first day. Peculiar enough, I had a good sense about it. Like I was gonna find out about something totally unexpected..

"See you later, Nick! Don't forget to bring your brains!" she exclaimed before sprinting off indoors.

"Um…sure?"

Sometimes, I wonder about that girl.

Miley's POV:

(Later on when Nick gets there)

Hearing the doorbell ring, I made my way downstairs and opened the door to find Nick. I smiled at him courteously and moved out of the way so he could step in. He returned it walked in, looking around in the process," Wow, your house looks great." He said. "Thanks… My mom's an interior decorator." I replied. He nodded and I led him into the kitchen to introduce him to my mom.

She looked up from washing the dishes and smiled warmly. "Hey honey, who's this?"

"This is Nick, mom. Nick, my wonderful mother." I said overdramatically. She laughed and wiped her hands off the rug and they shook hands.

"I'm tutoring him; we'll be upstairs in my room if you need me."

"Ok, sweetie." I leaned over and kissed her cheek lightly before leading Nick upstairs to my room. Pausing outside my room, "Um… I'm warning you. What you are about to see may be a little shocking." I told Nick, earning an odd look from him. Looks like he will have to perceive for himself. I hope he doesn't faint though…

I opened the door that had a sticker saying "danger zone: enter at your own risk," to which must have been the messiest room that you would have ever laid eyes on. Don't try imagining it… I bet you don't have that big an imagination. My room was as if a tornado had recently swept through it. This would explain the sign on my door. I think it's been two years or so since my mom was in here… or maybe it was three? I don't remember…

I looked sideways at Nick, expecting to see him shocked. But he was offhandedly looking around.

"Cool room." He said.

I gave him a "look" "What? Oh, you mean it's chaotic? Mine's worse." He said merely making me chuckle.

"Ok then, shall we begin?" I asked him as we walked in and I pushed a pile of clothes off my bed in order to make room for us to sit. We proceeded to sit down, and Nick pulled out his books and we started studying.

(About an hour later)

I stood up; Nick looked up at me from the problem he had been working on. "I'll be right back. You want anything to eat or drink?" I offered. "Sure, thanks." He replied. After getting two tall glasses of lime juice and a pretty full plate of chocolate chip cookies (**A/N: Yum! Lol.**), I walked up to my room to find an awfully confused looking Nick staring at his text book.

I laughed and said," Need any assistance?"

"Yeah…"

Placing the glasses and plate on my writing desk. I sat down next to him and looked at the sheet which he was supposed to have filled in the answers, only to find it vacant. "Ok, what is it that you need help with?"

"Practically everything!" This made me laugh again.

"Hey, don't laugh at me!" I knew he was kidding, but it still made me feel bad, which surprised myself greatly. "Sorry," I said.

He looked up, seeming baffled by my reply. "What?" I asked defensively.

A small, but gorgeous, smile spread itself across his face and he shook his head, his curls bouncing softly. I had the sudden urge to reach out and touch them. To feel how soft they were and run my hands through them… Forcing myself back onto reality.

"What?" I asked him again. He was looking at me and it looked like he was deeply in contemplation. "Nick!" That brought him back to earth too. "What?" I repeated the question for the third time.

"Nothing…" he replied, shaking his head.

Nick's POV:

"Tell me." Miley said, this girl was stubborn. But still… special.

I sighed." You seem… different."

She frowned and her forehead crinkled adorably," Well, for one. You're much nicer… to me. You know, you really puzzle me." I told her.

"Why do you say that?" she was so filled of questions.

I've only known you for about a month, but you're so bursting with loads of different emotions… You know… Like at times, you can be rude, cold, blunt, annoying—" she glared me and I just laughed "—but you can also be sweet, funny, caring, kind… kinda like now…"

She looked down and started playing with her fingers. It was as if she didn't or couldn't glance at me. "I don't know… Depends on my mood… I guess." She answered lamely.

I shrugged, maybe I had asked about something too confidential. Not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable or awkward, I ensured her,"Hey, It's Ok if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. It's your choice. I-I'm sorry if you felt like I was asking something too personal." I added when she didn't react.

Suddenly, she looked up and I notice that her eyes were slightly moist. To my surprise, I felt myself reach out and brush a single tear away. She looked up at me straight in the eyes. At first, I thought she was gonna tell me off for making her cry or something. But what she said beyond doubt touched me.

"My parents are always fighting… So, any day that they are not is a great day for me…" Her voice was barely a whisper as she said that. And I couldn't believe my ears, was she really telling me all this?

"It's not they do not love each other or anything, it's just… I don't know; find it hard to get along?" Once again, her ocean blue pools filled with tears, this time I did nothing but simply sit and stare at her like an idiot. "I'm always cheerful at home, trying to lighten up the mood. I love my parents... You know what I mean? I don't even know why I'm telling him all this. Nobody knew how I felt, well except Mary. It's a mixture of happiness and sadness…"

She looked down like she was embarrassed. Then again, she looked up at me, her eyes slightly cautious. "I don't even know why I'm telling him all this. Nobody knew how I felt, well except Mitchie. It's a mixture of happiness and sadness…" She paused as she silently sobbed. "I'm sorry I'm dumping all of this on you… I don't even know why I told you all this. Only Mary knows how I truly feel, I guess I wanted to tell someone else, and you were available."

Reaching out, I pulled her in for a comforting hug and held her close. It felt so right to be holding her like this. She pulled away and wiped her tears away. I never would have guessed Miley would have such an emotional side. And I cannot believe she told me that…She seems so carefree, so happy-go-lucky. But, really she's trying to stay strong. She really is beautiful… Inside and out.

"Thanks for listening to me ramble."

I smiled at her softly. "My pleasure." I never had known that Miley was so vulnerable. So—so fragile. I never that under all that sarcasm was a half broken girl. I couldn't imagine anything happening between my parents and I guess this really affected her. I felt sorry for her. After all, her tough exterior had just been an act. I wished I could do something to fix this and make her feel better. Because, seeing her sad, made me sad too, I had no idea why. I guess even with all our playful fights, I did care about her, at least a little bit.

"Miley!" We heard her mom, call and she slowly rose and walked towards the door before turning upon me and whispering," I'll be right back." I nodded; she wiped her tears and walked out leaving me on my own to my thoughts. Alone, I pondered trying to figure out what kind of a person Miley was. But no matter how much I tried, it was impossible. She was unique… and beautiful, just like her name.

(Later, while I was leaving)

She offered to walk me to the door, and I willingly accepted. And I was still wondering about her as we walked side by side in silence. Once we reached the door, I hugged her and she returned it almost enthusiastically. I barely realized that this was the second time I've ever hugged her.

Pulling away, I looked at her and said, "See you at school tomorrow."

"Oh, I won't be there."

"Why not?"

"I have a dentist appointment."

"Oh, Ok. See you the day after?"

"Absolutely." She smiled and I noticed how stunning she looked when she smiled. I turned to walk out only to be stopped by a worried looking Miley.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"You won't tell anyone, will you?"

I shook my head and smiled at her sincerely, reassuring her that her secret was out of harm's way with me.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." And with that, I walked out and started walking home, my mind filled with thoughts of a certain brunette.

Miley's POV:

Today… and the past week really confuse me. What's happening to me? Why did I tell Nick of all people my personal problems? And who actually would have thought that he would listen and not make fun of me for getting all dramatic? Well, I might have underestimated him all along. Come to think of it, he's really cute…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**A/N: Dun. Dun. Dun. Lol. Nick and Miley are definitely getting closer, don't you think? Well, don't worry; there are loads more Niley moments coming!**

**Hope you liked it. :]]  
REVEIW!**


End file.
